By Karan Agrawal 
There were talks of the need for all centrally contracted players to play domestic cricket following India’s disappointing loss in the Test series against New Zealand and Australia with BCCI making it mandatory for all the players to play for their state if they are not a part of any of the three squads. Following the instructions, senior players like Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul did feature in the Ranji Trophy for their respective states but the bigger question was will playing domestic cricket reap rewards for the players in preparing for the upcoming home series against England and the succeeding Champions Trophy?
The Preparation
The answer is Yes as players like Varun Chakarvarthy and Ravindra Jadeja credited domestic tournaments like Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Ranji Trophy for their improved performances with the most recent example being that of Ravindra Jadeja who featured in Saurashtra’s Ranji Trophy game against Delhi before joining the ODI squad for the series against England and picked up 12 wickets in the match. The results of playing in the Ranji Trophy have been evident as Jadeja has bowled miserly in the two games against England so far and has picked up 6 wickets at an economy of 3.21 which is the best in the series so far.
The Credit
When asked about how he feels about his performance in the two matches so far Jadeja said “It feels really good. I am playing (50-over format) after almost two years (15 months)… after the 2023 World Cup. In this format, there’s a need to adapt quickly.” Jadeja also credited his stint in the Ranji Trophy for his performance against England. In the words of Jadeja, “I believe playing in the one domestic game helped me because in that game I bowled 30 overs because of which my rhythm was intact. I try to bowl almost the same line and length in one-dayers like I do in Tests. So the continuity was there because of the domestic game I played, and it helped me.”
The Form
Ravindra Jadeja’s rich vein of form is a good sign for India leading into the Champions Trophy scheduled to take place in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19 along with Rohit Sharma who roared back into form with a match-winning century in the second ODI against England. India has taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series and will look to win the third match in Ahmedabad on February 12.